Disclosed herein are organogel compositions comprising alkylated aromatic acid compounds and organic liquids.
The “bottom up” self-assembly of molecular building blocks into nanostructured materials has attracted significant interest for advanced materials research. Nanostructured materials with controlled size, shape, and function are important for numerous industrial applications. Low molecular weight organogels are a rapidly developing class of such materials, in which small molecular building blocks self-assemble into one-dimensional assemblies stabilized by manifold non-covalent interactions (i.e., hydrogen bonding, pi-stacking, van der Waals, metal-ligand, or the like, as well as combinations thereof) that can entangle and intertwine into three-dimensional networks at very low concentrations. Solvent molecules are entrapped within the interstices of the network, resulting in rigidification of the fluid, affecting the macroscopic flow behavior and properties of the bulk liquid. The use of organogel materials is diverse and rapidly developing, and spans many applications such as medicine, electronics, printing, personal care, and environmental remediation. Although a large number of organogelator compounds are known, the rational design and synthesis of new organogelators for specific liquids of interest for commercial applications remains a significant challenge since the gel properties in a given liquid cannot be predicted from the molecular structures alone. In addition, not all self-assembling nanostructures form gels when placed in contact with a liquid.